The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 5, 1981 Page: 22 of 28
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By MARK VITULLO
FORT
HOOD
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THE FT. HOOD SENTINEL Thursday March 5 1981
A lot of people join the Army with
the intentions of learning a trade
earning valuable experience while
serving their country and then mov-
ing out into the civilian world with a
marketable skill.
SGT. JORGE RAMIREZ a photo-
grapher fromerly assigned to HHC
142nd Sig. Bn. 2nd Armd. Div. did
just that but profited more than most
soldiers. Ramirez has won a Pulitzer
Prize nomination for his photojour-
nalism coverage of the Cuban re-
fugees at Fort Chaffee Ark.
“I felt very lucky to be taking part
in the exodus of those Cubans who
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HOW photogra
could no longer stand to live with
Castro’s communism” said the 29-
year-old Puerto Rico native whose
mission wals to produce photos for
the military and civilian media as
well as for historical purposes.
“The whole situation was a photo-
grapher’s dream” he said. “The fa-
cial expressions on these people of
all ages were tremendous. They had
no money and very little clothing.
Just looking at them was emotionally
touching. I couldn’t help but take
good pictures pictures that I hope
have helped them more than me” he
said.
RAMIREZ HAS BEEN a photo-
grapher for more than 13 years. After
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three years of studying aeronautical
engineering at the University of Flor-
ida at Gainesville Ramirez took a job
working as a photographer’s assis-
tant. “There was just no creativity in
engineering” Ramirez explained.
He moved from job to job always
adding to his photographic know-
ledge. Before joining the Army
Ramirez’s job was working for a tour-
ist magazine called the Caribbean
Sun and for “TV Guide.”
Then in February of 1977 Ramirez
held up his right hand and joined the
Army “to gain a different perspec-
tive on photography.”
After his Advanced Individual
Training at Lowry Air Force Base
Ramirez came to the 142nd Sig. Bn. at
These photographs of Cuban refugees taken Ramirez a photo jo rn a list formerly
last summer at Fort Chaffee Ark. area sam- assigned to HHC 142nd Sig. Bn. 2nd Armd.
pie of the work that has earned Sgt. Jorge Div. a Pulitzer nomination.
Our new Military
Discount is 50%.
Fort Hood.
“The first thing I did even before
checking into the replacement cen-
ter was to show my portfolio to the
Fort Hood Sentinel Staff” he said.
“They immediately arranged it so
that I would shoot for them.”
“IT WAS DIFFICULT at first” re-
called Ramirez. “I was and still am a
studio photographer. Photojournal-
ism was a real challenge for me and I
liked it.”
While at Fort Hood Ramirez sup-
plied the Armored Express as well as
the rest of the S entinel ith
thousands of photos of soldiers doing
their jobs. In 1978 he was picked to be
the official Army photographer for
Delta has increased your Military Fare
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Day Tourist Fare. Best of all Delta’s
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Your on-base SATO {Scheduled Air-
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&
President Carter’s visit to Fort Hood.
Ramirez’s biggest break came in
May of last year. “I had just gone out
to the field with the rest of the divi-
sion and I wasn’t looking forward to
all that rain” he said. “The first day
out there I was notified that I had 36
hours to prepare to deploy with the
13th Public Affairs Detachment to
Fort Chaffee for at least 90 days. I
flipped out” he recalled.
“At first I didn’t know what to ex-
pect. We got to Chaffee and the place
was going nuts with people trying to
get the camp functional to receive the
Cubans. The second day I was there
the Cubans began arriving. By the
end of the week it had housed over
20000 refugees.”
BESIDES WORKING ardently as a
photographer Ramirez escorted
civilian media teams and because
Spanish is his first language he acted
as a translator.
“My ability to talk to the refugees
was probably my biggest asset in my
success in photographing them. I
was able to get to know them and
they got to know me. They were re-
laxed and trusted me while I was tak-
ing their pictures.”
Working 16 to 18 hours-a-day
Ramirez photographed and printed
pictures to meet deadlines for news-
papers FORSCOM the State De-
partment and the Pentagon. “Every-
one wanted photos and I was the only
photographer who had unlimited ac-
cess to the whole post. I was so busy
I didn’t even think about eating or
resting the first couple of weeks.
When I could I would get some sleep
on the floor in the Public Affairs
Office.”
As the situation grew less hectic
months later Ramirez began to
assemble a collection of his best
photos to publish in the local news-
paper The Southwest Times Record.
Working with Jack Mosley the news-
a r’s ed ito r am irez ent
through over 10000 negatives trying
to find the ones that would chronicle
the refugees’ plight.
“JACK ASKED ME if I could get
an essay of photos together in Au-
gust. I thought it would be a good
idea. We finally printed it on Decem-
ber 10 and Jack said we had a Pulitzer
on our hands. I didn’t even know for
sure what a Pulitzer was” quipped
Ramirez.
Mosley sent the tabloid to Col-
umbia University in New York to be
entered in the Pulitzer Prize contest.
Ramirez was notified in January that
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RETREAT CEREMONY
The 2nd Armd. Div. Retreat Ceremony will be held
tomorrow at HOW Field at 4:50 p.m. The ceremony
which will be hosted by the 2nd Sqdn. 1st Cav. will
feature the promotion of Col. Robert F. Molinelli chief of
staff to brigadier general. Public is invited to attend.
AVIATION SAFETY AWARD
Co. D 502nd Cbt. Avn. Bn. 2nd Armd. Div. recently
won the 1980 U.S. Army FORSCOM Commander Safety
Award for logging in a total of 9969 hours of flight with-
out an accident. «c
SKEET SHOOT RESULTS
Harold Getshow of Killeen took the championship in
the Bob Molinelli Open Skeet Shoot held recently at the
Fort Hood Rod and Gun Club skeet range. Getskow won
first place with a score of 100. Runners up were Col. (P)
Robert F. Molinelli 2nd Armd. Div. chief of staff with
97 Jack Harmon of Copperas Cove with 96 Randall
Brown of Fort Hood with 95 and James Grear of Copper-
as Cove with 91.
his work had been accepted and
nominated.
“By then I had found out that a
Pulitzer Prize is the greatest award
that a photojoumalist can receive. I’ll
find out if I’ve won the first of April.”
“Even if I don’t win the Pulitzer
with the refugee photos I’ll win one
eventually” said Ramirez confi-
dently.
Ramirez separated from the Army
last week and returned to Fort Chaf-
fee where his wife Rosanne is work-
ing as a psychologist with the re-
maining refugees. Ramirez also has
two children George and Michael.
He plans to move his family to New
York City soon where he has a posi-
tion waiting for him as a photo-
grapher for Life Magazine.
LOOKING BACK AT his Army
career Ramirez is satisfied with what
he’s done. He attributes his success ..
at photojournalism to the schooling
he received at the Defense Informa-
tion School at Fort Benjamin Harri-
son Ind. “I spent eight weeks there
and it was one of the most beneficial
eight weeks of my life. I knew photo-
graphy but photojournalism was*
new to me and that course helped a
lot” he said.
“I was kind of lucky. I made a name
for myself in a short amount of time
which is usually hard for a photo-
grapher but I worked hard to get
where I’m at today. I’m thinking
photography 365 days a year but I
really don’t mind because even
though it’s my work it’s also my hob-
by and I love it.”
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Ramirez
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The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 5, 1981, newspaper, March 5, 1981; Temple, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth309491/m1/22/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.